Social Media

11/10/2017

Commonly known as Russia's Paris Hilton, Ksenia Sobchak has announced her plans to run for President in the 2018 Russian election. Announcing her candidacy via a YouTube video, Sobchak is using both social media and television as a way to freely express her political views and ideas.

Sobchak has recently appeared on the independent channel TV Rain where she stated, “Over the past 17 years a whole new generation has grown up that wants to see a different Russia that is civilised and European." Pictured to the left is Sobchak at a news conference addressing her plans to run for president.

Sobchak has been evolving from a reality TV star into a presidential candidate in recent years. In 2004, she hosted Dom-2, a reality show where contestants discuss relationships by a campfire. Her time on Dom-2 ended in 2012 when her political protests against Putin did not align with the show's reputation. Sobchak gained other reality TV experience from Who Does NOT Want To Be a Millionaire, Last Hero-6, Sweet Life of a Blonde, Myz-TV Awards, and Two Stars.

Sobchak began her career on political television in 2010 through Freedom of Thought on state-run Channel 5. Originally airing in 2011, Sobchak Live is currently on TV Rain. In 2012, MTV Russia aired one episode of GosDep, meaning State Department, with Ksenia Sobchak. The “Where is Putin Leading Us?” episode features interviews from the head of the left front Sergei Udaltsov, head of the solidarity movement Ilya Yashin, and eco-activist Yevgeniya Chirikova. MTV Russia’s audience's lack of interest in politics caused the show to be cancelled.

It seems as though Sobchak has been struggling to be taken seriously as a political candidate due to her past reality TV career and socialite reputation. Sobchak is attempting to use her experience on talk shows and round table style television to transition her career into a political one. She tends to leave TV shows if they do not share her same oppositional political views.

In addition to TV, Sobchak uses western social media outlets such as YouTube and Instagram. She does not have a strong presence on Russian, government operated social media sites. On Sobchak’s official website, there are links to her YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and lastly Vkontakte. Sobchak has 33,071 followers on VK, which is a much smaller number in comparison to her 5 million Instagram followers.

Instagram has become widespread in Russia and is challenging the traditional advertising landscape of the nation. On Sobchak’s Instagram account, she shares her upcoming appearances, political views, family, and lavish lifestyle with her 5 million plus followers. The 36-year-old is married to actor Maksim Vitorgan whom she has an infant child with.

While 98 percent of Russians are aware of Ksenia Sobchak and her plans to run for President, most do not believe she is a serious candidate. Only 6 percent of Russians believe Sobchak will have a successful political career according to a survey by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center. Many people think that Sobchak's only real experience is through her political television career.

Sobchak has been unofficially banned as a presenter on state TV since joining anti-Kremlin efforts back in 2012. Using social media allows her to promote herself outside of TV Rain. Publicizing her Presidential bid on YouTube lets Sobchak reach larger audiences without the threat of being filtered by pro-Kremlin media outlets. She proves that websites like YouTube can be a threat to nations with heavily government controlled media.

10/04/2017

In a country where media is heavily regulated by its government, there aren’t many independent media news outlets available to Russian citizens. The most common source of news for Russians is television, where the people are fed with Kremlin filtered news.

In order to better understand Russian television, included in a Broadband TV News article are the total number of television channels in the country. "A total of 2,370 TV channels were identified as operating and accessible in Russia and/or having licenses to broadcast in the country, according to a new report of the European Audiovisual Observatory."

However, in an era of fake and state controlled news, one TV channel remains independent. Known as the "optimistic channel," TV Rain is a smaller scale news channel that touches on subjects the other major networks do not attempt to touch on.

“Nobody needs counter-propaganda,” said Mikhail Zygar, the editor-in-chief of the channel. “Our goal is not to fight anything, our goal is just to give people who don’t have real information the thing they don’t have.”

An example of TV Rain's coverage can be seen in an article titled, “What games are behind Putin's decisions, the ‘swelling’ Sobyaninskaya Moscow, and the growing rebellion of migrants,” translated from TV Rain’s official website. This channel dives into criticisms about Putin and governments practices, which is practically unheard of in the region. TV Rain emphasizes content over form and is often described as looking like student run television. The channel is produced differently than other major news channels that broadcast from huge studios with live audiences.

Natalia Sindeeva, founder and general director of TV Rain, has been praised for her work with the channel and “has twice won the ‘Russia’s media manager’ award for her work on radio (2004) and in television (2011).”

In an article written by The Guardian, a British news outlet, it discusses the issues TV Rain faces when trying to interview government officials. One of the popular segments on the channel is Hard Day’s Night. Hosted by Tikhon Dzyadko, Hard Day’s Night is one of the only political round table interview shows in Russia. Dzyadko and other journalists discuss the nations pressing political issues. Less and less political officials have been appearing on the show due to the reputation of the independent news channel and potential backlash they would receive from their superiors.

TV Rain came under fire when they posted an online survey on Twitter asking whether Leningrad should’ve been surrendered to the Nazis during WWII to save the lives taken during the siege. Since it is very uncommon and taboo to mention war efforts in Russia, almost every major cable provider country dropped TV Rain.

In addition to being dropped by these TV providers, Russian parliament passed laws banning advertising on cable channels, causing more trouble for TV Rain.

In order to earn revenue, the channel set up a subscription service for viewers starting at 1,000 roubles per year. The channel came up with the marketing slogan “There are 1,000 reasons not to believe in independent television, but just 1,000 roubles will get it for you.” Presently, the channel has 60,000 subscribers with costs of 4,800 roubles per year. Muscovites make up almost 40 percent of total subscribers.

Despite frequent attempts to be shut down by the government and other far-right groups, TV Rain continues to broadcast “sensitive” news topics. For a short time, the channel got evicted from their studio in the Red October area of Moscow and had to be produced out of the co-owner’s apartment.

09/19/2017

Russia is well known for its strong governmental regulations on media. Russian journalists risk their lives in attempting to expose any kind of corruption in sensitive topics including the nation's political dynamics. Russian media is constantly criticized by other countries with less regulated media systems. It is challenging to find any Russian media sources criticizing their own country because, "laws allow the authorities to block websites without explanation, require popular bloggers to register with the mass media regulator Roskomnadzor and demand that internet companies give the authorities access to users' information." Common punishment for not abiding by these rules is prison time. Recent attempts to shift political attitudes have shown the governments desire to not only persuade their own peoples perspectives, but that of other nations around the globe.

The Kremlin, headed by Vladimir Putin, has recently attempted more fake news stories in efforts to persuade American political opinion. The Daily Beast discovered that the 2016 Facebook event "Citizens before refugees" (pictured on the left) was hosted by "SecuredBorders," a Russian backed U.S. anti-immigration community. The page followed by 133,000 members was soon taken down by the social media platform. Following the three hour long event planned to be hosted at the City Council Chambers, Breitbart, a far-right news network, posted a great number of stories bashing the refugee population of Twin Falls including “Twin Falls Rape Special Report: Why Are the Refugees Moving In?” This was a false story denied by Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs. Other Russian influenced pro-Trump outlets such as InfoWars and WorldNetDaily also published stories calling for action to change the areas legislation to deny refugee citizens.

Earlier this week, it was revealed by Facebook that Russia used fake identities and thousands of ads, seen by 23-70 million people, in attempt to shape U.S. political views before and after the 2016 election. This is an example of how Russian lawmakers used social media to interfere in the political discourse of other countries. However, the government controlled Russian news media outlet Sputnik, “Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it interfered in the vote.”

Several different U.S. media outlets detailed the January 2017 FBI intelligence report claiming that “Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election.” Russian news outlets Sputnik and RT are under fire for serving as a "platform for Kremlin messaging to Russian and international audiences." Both of these outlets operate on U.S. soil and could have some interference shown in the above Facebook events. This report also touches on the idea that new regulations need to be put in place for media propaganda used by Russia on other nations.

01/31/2017

Throughout the presidential campaign, social media users took to platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to demonstrate their beliefs for and against Donald Trump. Eventually, the Anti-Trump movement was born. Social media as well as other smart phone apps have changed American politics indefinitely.

In light of the recent detainment of travelers at John F. Kennedy airport, officials are screening social media accounts in search of suspected terrorist affiliation. According to Independent, border agents are checking social media accounts of travelers whom are entering the country. What are they looking for? Political views of travelers. What does this mean for us? Individuals who post anything political on social media, are a potential target by the Trump Administration. Protesting Trump via hashtags may or may not be the safest idea, but wait, there's no need to grab a picket sign just yet. Here is a look at some alternative movements against the president.

Following the protest at JFK airport, Uber is under fire. Taxi companies under the NY Taxi Workers Alliance exhibited protest by suspending their work in opposition of Trumps ban. On the other hand, Uber tweeted, " Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient." Uber account holders were outraged by the companies decision to profit off of the Muslim ban. In result, at least 200,000 people have deleted their Uber accounts.

On the bright side, App stores on both Apple and Android devices have released an app to boycott Trump. According to the apps description, the BoycottTrump app helps users search for businesses in order to determine if they have any affiliation with Donald Trump. This allows individuals to single-handedly boycott the President by refraining to do business with him directly, or any of his supporters.

10/25/2016

Ethiopia is one of the most censored countries in the world, ranking an 82 on Freedom House, (100 being the worst). The country is located in Sub Saharan Africa. It is the second most populated country in the region. Surprisingly, this densely populated country is extremely disconnected from the rest of the world. They have the lowest internet connectivity rate in the world, with only a 4.4% penetration. The minuscule population who is online, has very limited access. Freedom House reports that it can take 6 minutes to log on and open up one email! Consider yourself spoiled next time you clear out your inbox.

Social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are often blocked in Ethiopia. In one case, the government claimed a social media ban was in order to prevent any distraction from students taking online entry exams. According to AlJazeera, the exam was in fact leaked and shared via social media which led to the ban.

In more serious cases the internet is often blocked to prevent protests and rallies. Earlier this month, the government declared a state of emergency after many people were hurt and 50 people were killed during a protest. The internet was blocked in attempt to prevent demonstrators from organizing further protests. Viber, Ethiopia's most popular messaging app was included in the ban.

With unreliable internet access and blocked content, citizens in Ethiopia are going to have to resort to primitive means of organization.

10/14/2016

Vietnam, a communist state is according to the CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists), currently the 6th most censored country in the nation. Bloggers in Vietnam risk jail time for anti-state content. The governments intent is to prevent citizens from reporting on news. A law was put in effect known as Decree 72, which was created to control the type of content shared on social media platforms. Decree 72 prohibits the use of social media for news, allowing only personal information to be shared. It's difficult to imagine, considering most of us obtain majority of our news while scrolling Facebook and Twitter. Isn't that the only reason we tolerate the mindless tweets? Well that and because, lets be honest, they can be wildly entertaining. But mostly because we know if we keep scrolling, well find something to nourish our curious minds. A perfect balance of entertainment and significance.

So how does the Vietnamese do Facebook? Well if they're lucky its not temporarily blocked. But does this mean their feeds are entirely filled with baby pictures and engagement announcements? They haven't given up just yet, 80% of smartphone users are on social media.

If it weren't for people like Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, citizens would have absolutely no insight to what's going on in their country. There are people like her who risk their safety to report on important social issues such as police brutality, and government corruption. In the CPJ article, she discusses how she has to go "undercover" and dress in plain clothes to cover a protest. It hasn't been easy for her. Quynh was detained after police raided her home while she was sleeping. They arrested her following a blog article she published about government land confiscation.

As technology develops, people in Vietnam are finding a way around the secure internet. We can only hope for their benefit, that the government ceases to keep up with the societies intel.

09/06/2016

Social media has become part of the norm in the United States. Over the past few years, it seems that everyone has created a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, or an Instagram account to publicize their lives. However, there are other countries that are not too far behind in the Social Media game, with India being one of those countries in particular.

According to an article from techinasia.com, 65% of India is still without internet access, but India still has 462 million internet users. In addition, there are 153 million social media accounts from those who have internet access. In the US that may not seem like a large number of users, but for a country that is that far behind in internet use it is a great start. This article projects that the number of users in India will most definitely go up in the coming years as more and more people are able to use the internet.

The growth of social media is important not only in India, but throughout the world. The reason that social media is a great use of the internet is because it can connect all types of people from around the world. If the people of India are able to get access to the internet and social media, then they will have a new means to communicate with other countries around the world.

According to a June 2015 article from thehindu.com, the number of social media users went from 118 million to 143 million in a matter of two months, which was a 35 percent increase. Since then, there has been 10 million more accounts created, which shows the continuing growth of social media in India.

10/30/2015

Twitter is not one of the main places that you can find a fashion blogger. Most people on twitter retweet content or links of viral internet comedy or news. Twitter is not the place for someone that extensively writes about topics like a fashion blogger does. To the twitter world that stuff is just not entertaining enough. But it is a place for bloggers to drive traffic to their blogs or become more personal with those that follow their blogs.

Having a twitter profile photo that is easily recognizable acts like a logo without being a logo so to say. Keep it something that is signature to your image as a blogger but also has a more relaxed and personal feel. A selfie works well or a close up professional photo in a fun setting.

Sticking to a topic of expertise, in this case fashion and style, is one of the main ways to gain followers on twitter in general. Just like on a fashion blog, twitter followers like consistency. Twitter is just one of those social media outlets where you have to be 10x more consistent in order to keep your followers or readers attention. Tweet often about your day to day activities even if they are not interesting. Remember, they are following your life so make them feel as if they know you personally and are there enjoying the fun with you, even the not so fun activities.

Rather than simply saying something like "at a fashion show", tweeting updates in more detail would make your followers more interested so tweet something like "Balmain's runway looks at #NYFW were filled with military styles" instead with an optional photo/video to follow. Being a fashion blogger means living a visual and creative life so get creative and post photos or videos along with your tweets, including links to your blog photos or instagram.

If there is one thing to know about tweeting as a fashion blogger, it is that people love to see behind the scenes and updates on what they could be expecting. Arrange photos if possible for behind the scenes moments of projects you are working on or even reveal a secret about the project that only those who follow you on twitter would be able to know. It will engage your audience by making them feel special.

04/02/2015

This past week has seen a graphic hostage situation in Istanbul. A prosecutor named Mehmet Selim Kiraz had been investigating the death of a boy who had been injured by police during a protest in 2013. When a group known as the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front took Kiraz hostage, Turkey banned media coverage on the crisis. The situation ended when both the gunmen and the prosecutor were killed.

Whereas the turnout was very tragic, one must think why the media coverage had been halted. The prime ministry of Turkey says that a ban can be introduced "under circumstances that national security clearly requires or poses possible threats against the public order." It seems that this ban was a tactical decision put in place to try and dissolve the situation and end it as peacefully as possible. In the event the hostage-takers were able to see how authorities were handling the situation, perhaps they'd have been given an advantage. Unfortunately this ban did not help the situation.

This is not the first time Turkey has imposed a media ban. The country has a notorious history of banning media coverage of certain events. In the past four years, matters of security and politics have both been banned from media coverage. As a matter of fact, there have been over 150 media stiflings in the past four years. In the case of the hostage situation, this seems reasonable. From the looks of things, Turkey has some more media bannings up its sleeve for the future. It begs to question how are they discriminating between these bannings, if they are at all?

03/24/2015

India's Supreme Court has scrapped away their Section66A law stating that any offensive comments online would lead to arrests made. The fact that this was even a law at one point shows how censored the Indian government can be with their rules against the media and freedom of speech and press. In the Hindustan Times they reported,

“We hold the section unconstitutional on the grounds that it takes within its sweep protected speech that is innocent in nature. It is liable to have a chilling effect on free speech and, therefore, has to be struck down,” the court said."

The law was said to hold the power to send someone to jail for up to three years for something as simple as a social media message or email that would be considered annoying or inappropriate. According to BBC News,

"The law was first challenged by a law student after two young women were arrested in November 2012 in Mumbai for comments on Facebook following the death of politician Bal Thackeray.

Shaheen Dhada was held for criticising Mumbai's shutdown after Thackeray's death. Renu Srinivasan, who "liked" the comment, was also arrested. The two were later released on bail."

Since than the law had caused several other arrested through out the years. It was a ray of victory for India on Tuesday, March 24th, when the Indian government trashed the Section66A law in the name of freedom of speech for the people. Hope was restored for meaning behind the word freedom in India.